Why Your Last Procurement Hire Didn’t Work, and What to Do Differently This Time The post-mortem nobody runs Most businesses that have tried full-time procurement and been disappointed do not run a proper post-mortem on why it did not work. The person leaves, the role gets quietly absorbed back into finance or operations, and a […]
Outsourced Procurement vs In-House: The Real Cost Comparison Most cost comparisons get this wrong before they start Ask a finance director to compare in-house procurement with an outsourced model and you will usually get a back-of-envelope answer. Salary on one side, monthly fee on the other, and a quick judgement about which looks cheaper. The […]
Procurement Operations Outsourcing: What It Covers and When It Fits The unglamorous half of procurement is where the leaks live When people talk about procurement, they usually mean the strategic end. Category strategy, big tenders, supplier negotiations, the deals that move the P&L in one go. That work matters, but it is not where most […]
Should You Outsource Procurement? A Decision Test The wrong question is the one most businesses ask first Almost every conversation I have with an MD or FD about outsourcing starts the same way. Will it save us money. It is the wrong opening question, because the honest answer is that it depends entirely on what […]
Everyone uses the term, almost nobody agrees on it Ask five business owners what procurement outsourcing actually is and you will get five different answers. One will describe a buying agency that bulk-orders stationery. Another will mention a consultancy that ran a savings review three years ago. A third will talk about contract staffing. None […]
Does Your Business Need a Fractional Procurement Leader or a Full-Time Head of Procurement? A fractional procurement leader can provide senior procurement expertise, supplier management and governance support without the cost of a full-time executive hire. For many SMEs, choosing between a fractional procurement leader and a permanent Head of Procurement is not as straightforward […]
Consultancy vs Fractional Procurement Support: One Sells Activity, The Other Delivers Outcomes Most procurement consultancies look good on paper. Big teams, structured methodologies, polished outputs. But strip it back and ask one question: Did it actually deliver the outcome? That is where the model starts to fall apart. More organisations are moving towards fractional procurement […]
Design to Cost (DTC): How Procurement and Engineering Cut Cost Without Cutting Corners Design to Cost procurement helps manufacturing businesses reduce the cost to buy by removing unnecessary cost from design. By reviewing drawing packs, materials, tolerances and manufacturing routes with engineers, you can lower the cost to manufacture, and secure better, more sustainable pricing […]